Palace of Water Sports Luzhniki

The main method, used by the authors of the Luzhniki Swimming Pool reconstruction project, is “Think as authors of a historical building”, which implies the reconstruction of the design method itself. Thus, the reconstruction is presented as a version of evolutionary development of the entire complex and the building. Designed and built in the 1950s as a part of Luzhniki Sports Complex, which also included Big and Small Sports Arenas, a half a century old open Swimming Pool has decayed and become morally obsolete. On top of that, the wide Luzhniki reconstruction before the Olympics of 1980 distorted the original town planning idea - the length of the Small Arena was increased then, and the symmetry, used as a base of the Sports Complex plan, was broken. Keeping the general style and certain parts of the building, authors of the project enlarge the building in length and height, adding extra volume on top. This allows for the bottom part to follow the shapes of the historical building - southern and northern walls with their authentic elements and colonnades are stretched, that makes it possible to reach the originally designed balance with the Small Sports Arena. Classic forms, followed by architects Alexander Vlasov and Igor Rozhin - designers of the historical Swimming Pool, got their development in the attic, decorated with an enlarged replica of former facade historical bas-reliefs. Original bas-reliefs were saved and moved inside to become a part of decoration for the new water sports palace. The lightness of the attic floor is reached thanks to a delicate ornamental structure, consisting of circles referring to olympic events. It was borrowed from spherical ceiling caissons of Electrozavodskaya subway station. One of its authors, Igor Rozhin, was also a co-author of the Swimming Pool in the 1950s. The same decorative approach was used in finishing of loggias walls with colonnades in the bottom layers of side facades. The increase in the volume allowed to not only locate three sports and fitness swimming pools, aqua park with nine water slides, sports and training rooms, SPA-zones for relaxation and food courts in the area of the open swimming pool, but also highlight its importance from the town planning perspective - now the building can be easily seen from such important spots as Metro Bridge and Sparrow Hills. The design and construction is based on the newest technologies in automation, water conditioning, and multimedia systems. The building is covered with a transformer rooftop. Two sections open in the opposite directions widewise, which gives an opportunity to the visitors of the swimming complex to enjoy the sun in the spring-summer season. The new building of the Swimming Pool maintains the basic features of the old one and, accordingly, stylistic unity with other sports buildings of Luzhniki Complex.